Fires of Belief
by eeveefairysparkle
Summary: Jamie Bennett saved the Guardians, saved the children's belief, and saved the world. The Man in the Moon's decision to seek his help and make him a spirit isn't all that surprising. Jamie's power to inspire belief is an incredible gift. A gift that is only strengthened when he becomes a Phoenix.


Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians; I just love it and need to write stuff about it. …There, happy?

(A.N.: Glad you remembered this time.)

So this story is called Fires Belief and is my first Rise of the Guardians story. I have loved this fandom pretty much since before the movie came out but I hadn't known what I should write about. Finally A.N. gave me something to work with, and here it is.

**Chapter 1: Grief And Terra Is Not The Best Babysitter**

* * *

Jack would not cry. Not yet. He would later, oh he would definitely cry later. He would weep and grieve and mourn and all the other synonyms that still didn't quite describe the pain he was feeling. But not now.

It wasn't like it was unexpected or sudden, but it still hurt. The loss was still great; no matter how prepared he had thought he was. He had tried to come to grips with this, but strangely it had not sunk in until this very moment. Here he was, perched on his staff, on the roof of the Dream Arcade skyscraper, watching the small group of other mourners, most of whom could not see him, prepare themselves for this final goodbye to a dear friend and family member. Jack had thought he was ready for this, but as he sat there the storm of emotions that had been building started to hit him like a freight train.

Jamie Bennett was dead.

That was why they were all here. Jamie's family had wanted to give him one last special goodbye. They felt that it was important to scatter his ashes somewhere with meaning to him, but also somewhere new, somewhere he hadn't had the chance to see, to explore, and to wonder at. The Dream Arcade had been Jamie's pet project since he had first realized he could make a successful living and more writing fantastic children's stories, but he had fallen ill just before its completion. His goals were so great that soon others couldn't help but support the dream too. The Dream Arcade was a charity organization that would help children in need, no matter where they were or what their need was. They did everything from anti-bullying campaigns to fighting hunger and disease in struggling nations. This building was not the main office, but it was the center of the organization. It was exactly what the name said it was, an arcade. Everything from the old Pac-Man and Pong style video games to the newest in virtual gaming technology. There was laser tag and bowling, an arts room, a gym, a swimming pool, even a floor where employees helped children film an amateur movie for them to take home. There was something there for everyone, and the goal was to make it as accessible to every child possible. Schools would come on field trips, local church and community youth organizations would come from all over the world, and the arcade was made as affordable and accommodating as possible to all who wished to go there. And this was because of something that Jack had taught Jamie. Children, young and old, needed to have fun. Jamie was determined to help bring that fun to every child possible.

Jack couldn't be more proud. He thought of this wonderful achievement, and lamented the fact that Jamie had never been able to see what wonder had come from his dream. Despite his promise not to cry, Jack felt tears roll down his cheeks, chilling almost to the point of freezing, but not quite there.

His family was saying their final goodbyes. His children and grandchildren all having wonderful stories and happy memories to share, for his family was loving and close. Jamie had never lost sight of his loved ones while pursuing his dream, instead his family had shared his dream and pursued it with him.

Jamie's sister, Sophie, slowly stepped forward to say the final words of the ceremony. "Jamie was a wonderful brother, a loving husband, a fantastic father, and the best friend anyone could ask for. No matter what the project, he was never to busy for his family and was always there to lend a hand to a friend in need. He made everyone around him as enthusiastic and passionate as he was. He made people believe in the impossible.

"Jamie had always sought the fun in a situation, he always saw the wonder in the world around him, he cherished his precious memories and strived to make new ones for himself and those around him, he had large dreams, he never lost hope in their fulfillment, and he never, ever stopped believing."

And then it was over. The Wind rushed forward and picked up the scattered ashes, carrying them along into the sun, which was now starting to set. The family turned to go, only two or three, including Sophie turned back to give the winter spirit still sitting on the roof a look of sympathy. The others there who could see him, the small children, were still too confused and sad to notice Jack's distress. Jack was surprised, in a dull and distant way, to see Sophie look at him. While Sophie still believed in some things, such as Bunny and sometimes North, she had stopped seeing Jack when she was about sixteen. Jack didn't know what exactly had made here believe he would be there, but he was too grief stricken to really and truly ponder even something as unexpected as this. She gave Jack a small, sad smile, and left with her family.

Jack stayed there for a few moments more, still as a stone. Then he asked, in barely more than a horse whisper, "Wind, I need to go. Somewhere far away. Can you take me to Antarctic or something like that? I need to be alone for a bit."

The Wind was reluctant, after all Jack shouldn't be alone anymore. He had the other Guardians to go to now. But their hesitation only lasted a moment before they scooped the boy up and rushed him along to the South Pole. Sometimes a person just needs time alone to process their grief and work through it privately before they can accept the comfort of others, and comfort others themselves. In a few days Jack would leave the South Pole and seek the comfort of the other Guardians, talk through his emotions with them, and help them sort through their emotions. But for now he just needed to be alone.

For just a moment, as Jack was leaving, it snowed. Everywhere in the world had at least a few flakes of gentle snow in that moment. It wasn't noticed everywhere, it wouldn't stick in hot places, it didn't last long, and people don't generally notice what they don't expect to see. But it was there.

* * *

The Wind, the wind that Jack called on and relied on as a friend, was actually a collection of spirits. They were like the spirits of the world of spirits, for they could only be seen by each other. Some spirits, mostly seasonal spirits could interact with them to an extent, even hear them if several of them tried to get the message across at once, but even they had never seen the wind spirits. Jack was so close to the winds that he was even able to recognize when a few of them, when a certain spirit was there and when they left. These spirits were not lonely though, despite their lack of visibility to the outside world, because they had each other. They were a close community, and the wind spirits were content with their way of life.

It was a common misconception that these wind spirits, mostly referred to as Sylphs by others, were all female. In fact, there were many male Sylphs as well. The Winds came in all forms. There those that looked human, those that resembled animals, those that could have been aliens, and even a few that appeared to be plants. They all had different backgrounds too. Some had been human before, some were from another world, some had been animals, some had been other types of spirits such as Dryads or Nymphs (who could also be male, despite common misconceptions, again) before becoming wind spirits, and still others had started out as a spirit of the wind. They all had different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, much like any other manner of being. There may have been common mannerisms and personality types, such as a close sense of community, strong loyalty, and a love of mischief making (a small part of the reason they enjoyed Jack's company so much) but they were still very much individuals.

A small group would take Jack to the South Pole, and then most would leave to give him his privacy. Only one would remain with him, a respectful distance away but ready to help if something happened and to carry him away when he was ready. This spirits name was Elaine and she was young for a spirit, but not the youngest. She had appeared some time, almost fifty years, after Jack himself had become a spirit. She could change her appearance like most other wind spirits, and most of the changes were to her apparent age. She could appear to be a wide range of ages, but most often she took the form of a girl of about ten. Her hair was long and brown but many other wind spirits had noticed an almost eerie resemblance between her and Jack Frost.

While a small group of four Winds were taking Jack to the South Pole most of the rest who were on the roof at the time (a large number as Jamie had been quite popular among the Winds) went their own ways, waiting for Elaine to call them to pick Jack up again. One group of three had already left though. This group had been given an important mission by the Man in the Moon, though they did not understand why they were to do what they were doing.

Angel, Spark, and Terra, the three Winds, were unusually silent while they carried the ashes from the building in Chicago to a small grove somewhere near the border of north-west Illinois and south-west Wisconsin.

Angel was the Wind actually carrying the ashes. She had the most control, and so she would not drop a single fleck. Her appearance was vaguely humanoid, though she was twice as tall as a normal human, had long and thin arms, and short legs, and she had wings that almost resembled that of a bat. She was one of those rare Winds that had been of another planet. Her ship had crashed here before humans had even come to be. She loved the planet and wanted to help it without interfering, so Manny had agreed to turn her into a wind spirit to fulfill that wish. She was one of the oldest Wind spirits.

Spark took the form of a grey wolf. Angel had befriended him before he became a spirit, though he was unable to see her before he became a Wind himself, and Manny had chosen him to join the Winds. He was fiercely loyal to all the Winds, but especially to Angel. He was the guard of the group, as he had the most force behind his wind and could drive back almost any threat that came their way.

Terra was the guide of the group. The two other Winds who comprised the group had notoriously bad senses of direction and neither had been in the region before. Terra had been a Dryad in the region before becoming a Wind (accounting for the rather amusing oddity of a Wind spirit with a name that means earth) but had been miserable. Dryads were very solitary creatures; there could be thousands living in an area but they would never see or speak to each other. They never were able to wander far from their tree either. Altogether, it was just too lonely for Terra. He was far happier as a Wind, with a close community of friends and family and able to explore the whole world as much as he pleased. In appearance he looked like a slightly short human boy with dark green skin, light green hair, and brown eyes. He was the youngest Wind, only having become a Wind a few years ago.

Angel gently laid the ashes down where she had been instructed to, the base of an apple tree in a small orchard of a house in the middle of the countryside. There were about five more fruit trees in the orchard, including a cherry and a mulberry tree. The orchard and nearby house were surrounded by other trees, mostly pine, walnut, and a few maples, like most trees in the area were. Terra himself had been a dryad of a pine tree near a house about a mile from there. Autumn was well under way by that point and bright red leaves of surrounding trees made them look like they were on fire. Only the pine trees were still green, adding contrast to the reds, oranges, and yellows.

Angel and Spark left almost immediately. Terra, on the other hand, lingered. While definitely preferred his life now, his time as a Dryad had taught him to be patient. He was curious and wanted to know why the Man in the Moon had asked them to do this. So he went a short distance away, sat, and watched.

It was sunset before anything happened. A car pulled up the driveway and a couple stepped out. They seemed to be in their early to mid twenties, were dressed casually, and both carried cameras. The woman was neither tall nor short, a bit on the scrawny side, though not obviously so, and had brown hair cut to about shoulder length. The man was slightly taller, had darker skin, and his dark hair was just long enough to show a bit of a curl. As the two were walking up to the front door an older couple, who had clearly been expecting them, came out to meet them. The four talked briefly, with the woman pointing to different areas around the house. When they were done talking the older couple went back inside the house while the younger couple started walking around the house, taking pictures of the surrounding yard, orchard, and fields. With the sunset adding more color it was a perfect time to take pictures.

Terra kept an eye on them, not for any suspicion, but for a lack of anything else to do. Then he jumped as he suddenly noticed that someone else was in the orchard. A female Dryad with light green skin and bright red hair, the color of perfectly ripe apples, was standing by the tree where they had placed Jamie's ashes. Terra was amazed. Even as a Dryad he had never seen another Dryad; the closest he had come were the four or five other Winds that had been Dryads before being changed. This was not one of them; this was an honest to goodness apple tree Dryad. She was staring intensely at the young couple a short distance from her. Terra was even more in awe as he realized what was happening. The most powerful Dryads were able to see into the hearts of others and determine whether or not they could be trusted, and that was what this Dryad was doing then. She must have approved of what she saw, for she smiled as the couple walked away towards the other side of the house and whispered, "Yes, they will do well."

As the Dryad disappeared Terra shouted with alarm. As he looked back at the Dryads tree he noticed a fire at the base of the tree. But as he watched the fire his alarm decrease and his confusion increased. Nothing was burning. The fire wasn't even hot. And as the not-fire continued to sort-of-burn, Terra noticed that the fire was right where Jamie's ashes had been. As soon as Terra noticed this, however, the fire died down. In the place of the ashes or the fire was… a baby. There was a sleeping baby lying in a small bed of leaves at the base of the apple tree. Jamie. It was Jamie Bennett.

Jamie Bennett was a baby, come to life again from his ashes. He was a phoenix, Terra realized. He had become a spirit.

Jamie started wake up, blinking slowly. Terra watched in fascination to see what the phoenix spirit Jamie would do. Now being a baby, it should have been obvious what he would do. He cried. Loudly.

Oww. That boy had a set of lungs on him, didn't he? But what was Terra supposed to do? Spirit or not, Jamie still couldn't see him or touch him. Only Winds could see and touch other Winds. Terra couldn't even really pick him up safely. But he had to do _something_ soon; that wailing was quickly giving him a headache.

He thought of the young couple on the other side of the house. The Dryad had seemed to find them trustworthy. Maybe they could help. It was a desperate plan, but the longer this went on the more desperate Terra was getting.

As a Wind, Terra was able to carry sound with him. So, he carried Jamie's cries with him as he left to find the couple. It occurred to him as he approached that, being young adults, they would be unable to hear the cries of a phoenix spirit. Terra added his own cry to the mix. If you have ever stood outside and thought you heard the wind whisper to you, it is possible you were hearing Wind spirits. If enough get together and share their power, they are able to whisper messages to normal human ears. This was not a message with words or a particular meaning, just a cry, so Terra was able to do it on his own. That is not to say that it was easy, and it did not help with his headache in the slightest.

It worked, to an extant, and the two followed the sound back to the orchard and the apple tree. But, even if they were able to hear the cry, that didn't mean they believed. Terra let his winds go dejectedly, realizing that this wouldn't really help Jamie at all. He looked at the boy, who had quieted to a softer but consistent whine, to apologize, even if the apology could not be heard. He noticed a few differences in the boy, aside from the obvious being a baby and all. Jamie still had brown hair, judging from the little hair he had, but it now had a slightly red shade to it. And his eyes, Terra finally noticed, were orange. As Terra studied Jamie's new eyes he could swear he saw them glow, just for a moment. If he had been watching, he would have seen the same glow appear for a moment in the eyes of the two young adults standing above them.

He was startled when he suddenly heard twin gasps of surprise from above him. The woman quickly bent down and _picked Jamie up_. She held him closely and murmured soft and comforting things to him. The man, still in shock, moved to help and to get a closer look. As he did so, Terra heard him mumble something. Either to himself, the woman, or the world Terra wasn't sure.

"Phoenix," was the soft statement.

Whether or not he had been actually speaking to her, the woman replied. "Yes," she said, "he is Phoenix."

What had just happened? Jamie's eyes had glowed and suddenly… the couple had _seen_ him. They believed in him. Believed that a phoenix could exist, where moments ago they clearly had not. Jamie did that. Jamie Bennett, now Phoenix, had caused, had encouraged, another person to believe.

Didn't that fit him to a T?

And there was that headache again. Terra needed a break. Jamie seemed to be in good hands, and since Terra and the other Winds had known the boy when he was human, it wouldn't be too hard to find him again. Terra was going to take a nap.

He left the couple as they walked back to the house, the woman still comforting Jamie and both looking absolutely confused, and flew a short distance to a nearby farm. He found his old pine tree, settled down beneath it, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Spirits, including Winds, don't normally have much need of sleep, but when they do they can sleep for quite awhile. When Terra woke up he could tell it had been a few days. He started to worry a bit. Was Jamie safe? Terra flew up a turned to find the boy.

Worry turned to panic as he quickly realized a problem. Terra and the Winds had known Jamie while he was human. Jamie was a spirit now. Apparently the difference was great enough that _Terra couldn't find him_. Terra had fallen asleep confident that he would be able to locate Jamie, but had fallen asleep before he had actually checked. Jamie was missing.

Terra flew through the countryside and nearby town, but did not find Jamie or the couple that had found him.

Terra had seen Jamie become a spirit, he had been right there, and he had lost him.

…

Great

* * *

Wow! I am amazed. I don't think I've ever written anything this long. Wow.

(A.N.: Okay, this bugs me. The thing with Elaine? That was supposed to be subtle. That was not subtle. That was anti-subtle.)

Hush. Anyway many thanks go out to the author Ironic-Sarcasm.

(A.N.: Don't _Hush_ me!)

Her amazing story, Imaginary Friends, and the continuations of it gave me the idea of Jamie being a phoenix and being able to create and encourage belief. I did ask her permission to use the idea and she agreed.

(A.N.: Thank You :D)

Just a warning, if you like long chapters I cannot guarantee that they will all be this long. I will try to make sure that they are at least 1000 words. But that's all I can promise.

(A.N.: This is nearing 4000, just for reference.)

I love feedback, will answer almost any question you ask, and can't wait to see where this story goes.

(A.N.: See you all later!)


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